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Training Courses Precision rifle class at Sig Sauer Academy....how was your experience and where did you stay?

want2learn

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Sep 7, 2013
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Hi, wondering if anyone has taken the Precision Rifle Class at the Sig Sauer Academy in NH in recent years?

Was it a good learning experience?

What hotel did you stay at?

Did you use their rifle? thanks
 
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thanks....i'm looking for good deals on hotels right now. I signed up for the class and hope to learn as much as possible in advance. Must pick up a couple of things for the course as well but will be very prudent in this per the advocacy and input from the members of this forum
 
will do, thanks

interestingly it doesn't seem that many have taken their rifle class....or perhaps no news is good news. That said, I'll try to post my experience this summer.

I've taken pistol classes there a few years back and they were terrific. Hopefully this will be as well.
 
Technically it was answered in the other post, but I've been to PSR 101/102 in Nov '18, and Apr '19 and would like to give some answers for anyone else looking to take the Sig PSR courses.

1.) Fundamentals are the focus
It's pretty much 95% shooting in the prone, and maybe ~30 minutes on positional shooting. From 100-200 yards you're shooting paper, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Shooting steel, as I've noticed, tends to make people just sending rounds down range, forgetting fundamentals, for that satisfying "ping."

2.) Knowledge is power
They spend a good 1/3 of the courses in class going over nomenclature, ballistics, and other things that pretty much form the foundation of your long range career.

3.) ASK.
Regardless of any course I have been in, if you need help in something, ASK.
Ask if your position is good, why your groups are so big, why your back muscles are aching, ect. Instructors are usually good at picking things up, but their overall focus is to SAFELY teach a class, so they might not get you want to shoot 0.10 inch groups at 100.


But I'd say if you'd want to get pure fundamentals of long range shooting in, the Sig Academy course is perfect for that. (Especially if you luck out and catch a course on a windy day!)

Once you get rounds down range, and decide long ranged marksmanship definitely your thing, start looking at Mile High Shooting for wind courses (from what Frank states on his podcast, that are basically the wind masters due to their location) , KM Precision for PRS training, ect.
 
I live less than 2 miles from Sig and have attended many courses there, but I have not taken a precision rifle course. Well, I did a 1-day "Reach for 1,000" course, but that is it.

Overall, Sig has excellent instructors and a great facility. I will answer any questions you have,
 
Although I really like Portsmouth, I wouldn't recommend it for a hotel location. You'll be busy at the range all day and probably tired at the end of each day, so you might not want to go out on the town. However, if you are bringing your wife, girlfriend, whatever, then stay in Portsmouth so she doesn't get bored. Also, I'm sure how gun-friendly the Portsmouth hotels are. You might get a few stink-eyes walking through the lobby with your gear. All of the shops and restaurants in Epping are used to the Sig students.

If you want to be closer to Sig, there is a Hampton Inn and a Fairfield in Exeter, which is 10 minutes down Hwy 101. There are plenty of good restaurants and grocery stores there, as well as bars, breweries, etc. It is a nice, small town. There is also the Exeter Inn, which is a nicer, small hotel. I think Jeff Gonzales of Trident Concepts stays there when he offers courses at Sig. Gerry Tetreau, who is running a course and competition at Sig this weekend, stays in Lee, NH at a B&B. So, there are plenty of options around.

For lunch, there are many quick-serve and fast food restaurants in Epping, where Sig is located. I usually bring my lunch and eat at the range so I have more time to do other things like load mags or take a NASA nap. Sig used to have an agreement with a local sandwich shop where you could order lunch and it would be delivered. I know that shop closed, but I don't know if Sig has other agreements like that.

If you have your own rifle, bring it, so long as it is up to the task. If you are flying and don't want to deal with bringing a rifle, then use Sig's. They have many to choose from and most of them are top of the line. They won't hand you and off-the-shelf hunting rifle. I think they require that you use/buy their ammo for their rifles.

Bring appropriate clothing for the weather. The rifle range is uncovered and you'll be laying in the dirt/sand/gravel/grass to shoot. If you get lucky, they will let you shoot on the 1,000 yard range, which is fun. Wind won't be much of an issue because the range is surrounded by tall trees.

Double check that your rifle and scope is set-up correctly. Make sure your scope is level, all the nuts, bolts, etc are torqued down and you have a solid zero. You instructor should go over your rifle with you, just to be sure, but if you show up to class ready to rock, then everything happens smoother and quicker.

You do get a discount at the pro shop for being a Sig student, but you might be able to find a better deal online. Shop smart.

If you have time, definitly go check out Kittery Trading Post. They have a huge selection of new and used guns, ammo, and accessories. Their prices tend to run a bit high, but it is fun to go look. If you want more tourist info, just ask.
 
I just wanted to share that i had a wonderful experience at the Sig Sauer PRS class.



Our class was taught by a very experienced instructor and educator. The students/participants ranged in age and experience from beginners such as myself to very proficient and experienced shooters. Calibers shot by the students included .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor and 300 Win Mag. I was surprised at the latter choice in caliber but they shot their rifles really well and consistently throughout the 3 day class. The rifles spanned the gamut from incredibly high end rigs to one gentleman who built his own rifle on limited resources….he even won one of the competitions against some pretty awesome shooters and rigs.



Several of the students were preparing for a once in a lifetime type of hunt, some were law enforcement developing and improving their already excellent skills for team development. All were there to continue their skill development and education. Great group of people. Very safe, very smart and a lot of fun.



As i was the least knowledgeable and experienced of the group i was worried that i would hold the class back but the instructor was great at giving each student what they needed to succeed and learn. For someone like myself it was awesome to be able to come with almost no equipment and use all of their equiptment, rifle, mat, ammo, scope, bag etc. They gave us a pen, pencil, a nice handout text and a great shooting data book. The rifle was flawless, in excellent shape with a great trigger and very accurate, scope was a high end Sig Scope as well. Honestly all i brought specifically for the class was a hat, a water bottle, ear and eye protection, cargo pants and long sleeve shirt and some sun block…and i lacked for nothing.



We all did very well, I can honestly say that. We learned how to really fit the gun to us, how to understand many of the fundamentals so critical to the sport, how to effect the requisite calculations. By the last day we all almost instinctively found our natural point of aim quickly and efficiently and were hitting longer range targets consistently and accurately. I almost couldn’t believe it.



As the class progressed we incorporated new skills and were challenged with some very fun exercises and some mini (not stressful) competitions.



The facilities were great. It was very safe. I learned a lot. I’m very pleased and grateful. Truly a great value and resource.
 
Who was the instructor? DH? AR?

Took a defensive rifle class there couple of weeks ago. Good time, informative.

Have a PSR skill builder scheduled for early October that I'm looking forward to.

My goal is to take two classes a year there.
 
Yes, DH
He was very patient and very helpful individualizing his instruction to our specific needs and goals
I will definitely try to attend more classes there...I'll read up on the skill builder class, is that the next level up from the beginner class?
I've got to get a good barrel and scope and work on my technique.
 
Yes, DH
He was very patient and very helpful individualizing his instruction to our specific needs and goals
I will definitely try to attend more classes there...I'll read up on the skill builder class, is that the next level up from the beginner class?
I've got to get a good barrel and scope and work on my technique.

Dave is good and patient.

Seems in every class at Sig there is "that guy" and they integrate him well without ruining the experience for the others.

The two day PSR class would probably be the next progression as far as instruction goes. They introduce a Kestrel and get more into ballistics ed.

The Reach for 1000s are just a good day of shooting with a set of eyes to critique your fundamentals/spot.

The skill builder I'm guessing will be a day of fun excercises. I've been out there before and when time allowed they set up balloons, did firing drills had us shoot weird shit and at weird cadences. I'm expecting it will be a day of fun drills.
 
As i was the least knowledgeable and experienced of the group i was worried that i would hold the class back but the instructor was great at giving each student what they needed to succeed and learn.

As a beginner and if it was a beginner class, that isn't something you should have to worry about anyways. The "experienced" ones that weren't in the right level class in the first place, there will always be "those guys".
 
i was very grateful, we had a really nice group. We spent a lot of time getting everyone's rifles set up so that we were all very comfortable getting behind the rifle. It made all the subsequent lessons and exercises work so well.

I also learned a great lesson, i should have paid more attention but after fooling around with a box test, i neglected to reestablish my zero setting on the scope....as a result i ended up missing some 10 shots in a row till it dawned on me.

I don't think i'll ever forget to reestablish the status of my rifle and optic.
 
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